Air conditioning method and apparatus



Sept. 26, 1944.

A. H. BAHNSON, JR

AIR CONDITIONING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 19445 A. H. BAHNSOYNQJR 2,358,847

AIR CONDITIONING METHO D' A'ND APPARATUS' Filed June 5, 1942 s Sheets-:Sheet 2 p 1944. A. H. 'BAHNSON, JR 2,358,847

. AIR CONDITIONING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 26, 1944 AIR CONDITIONING METHOD AND APPARATUS 1 Agnew H. Balmson, Jr., Winston-Salem, N. Application June 5, 1942,. Serial No, 445,947

'7 Claims.

This invention; relates to improvements in air conditioning method andapparatus and particularly to air conditioning method and apparatus of the type employing an air conveying and distributing duct having means for huniidifying air within the duct and aplurality of outlets for distributing the moisture laden air to' the space to be conditioned;

Air'c'onditioning systems of this general type are particularly adapted to industrial air conditio'ning and have proved highly satisfactory in the conditioning of air in cotton textile mills, and the like.

tio'ns ithas been found that due to'the limits However, in large wet duct'installain the capacity of the air stream to evaporate @hd/or'carry along as mist water introduced into the air stream by a water at'ornizin'g or vaporiz- =ing apparatus located atoif adjacentjthe'intake end of the duct, the depositionofentrained mist on the interiorsur faces'ofthe duct, and passage thereof out of the duct'through the outlets nearer to the humidifying unit; the" air passing to the outlets in'the more remote portions of the duct carries little if anyentrained'mist into the space to be conditioned. -'I "his res u1ts in uneven conditioning ofthe spac: g

. It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a novel m thod of supplying conditioned air to large' spaces andan'ai'r conditioning system including av'vet duct distributing and humidifying unit of novel'construction which will supply air bearing substantially uniform quantities of .waternfr'omall of the outlets throughout the length of the duct. r

Another object of the invention is to provide" air conditioning and distributing apparatus of the wet duct type including a novel and eificien't arrangementof air propelling means and means for discharging finely divided'water into the air whereby to effect over the entire length of the distributing duct discharge of air of uniformly 7 high moisture content.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved humidifying-duct structure in which the'air stream is divided and humidified in stages immediately preceding'points -'of discharge into the space to be conditioned.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-'2 of Fig, 1, Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line 33 of .Fig. 1,

Figs. 4 and 5 are partial diagrammatic sections on lines 4- 4 and 5-3, respectively of Fig. 1

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical axial section through one of the outletnozzles, M v

Fig; '7 is a similar view looking in the opposite direction,

Fig. 8 is a section on the line :8 -8 of Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 is a front end elevation of a modified form of outlet nozzle. 7

Fig. 10 is a section on the line Ill-l0 of Fig. 11,

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the modified outlet,

Fig. 12 is a 'similar view from the opposite side, Fig. 13 is a section onthe line l3l3 of Fig. 9, Fig. 14 is a similar view looking in the opposite directionQ'and g Fi 15 isa' 'plan'viewof a modif ed apparatus embodyingthe invention. 7 g Referring now more particularly to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, l0 indispace to be conditioned. The duct is preferably disposed so as to take in air from an outside air .inlet II in 'the'wall l2, but'provision may also be made for'recirculating air from within the space. The ductflll tapers in form from adjacent the air inlet 'end i to the" opposite end thereof.

' Adjacent the inletend of the duct is a large axial flow fan l3 mounted onjthe shaft l4 centered in the ductand driven'through a belt drive 15 from an electric motor 'IG'mounted outside ithe duct m. "Iiieshartu is journalled in suitable bearings 1 parriedby a frame I8. Radial vanes I 3' are'providedadjacent the fan to eliminate the rotary component imparted to the air by' the fan. I v

f'Ihe section Ill" of the duct [0 from a point adjacent the fan l3 to afpoint'approximately intermediatethe extremities thereof is dividedinto v two substantially equal j duct passages l9 and by a'vertical partitionwall 2]. The duct passage 19 is closed at the end oppositethe fan l3 by an end wall 22." Means are provided for discharging will be apparent from the followin'gdetailed def scription of the invention with reference to the example and inwhicht Fig. 1 is a top plan View of'a pre ferred embodiment of the invention,-

finely divided water into the air adjacent the inlet end of the duct passage l9; This means preferably comprises an atomiz'ing element 23 which is supported centrallyin the passage on a bracket 24 fastened therein. The atomizing element includes. a revolving disc 25 and an atomizer ring 26 supported'by a' casing L21, The disc 25 is mounted onQa shaft l8v which extends through the casing 21 and mounts 'a pulley 29 driven by belt drive 30 from the motor [6. Water is fed to opposite sides of the disc 25 through pipes 3| from a suitable source of supply.

The water atomizing unit and drive arrangement may be and preferably is in general similar to that disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 378,816 filed February 13, 1941.

A plurality of substantially horizontally disposed laterally directed outlet nozzles 32 are mounted in openings 33in the outsideiwall of the duct passage I9 to distribute the moisture laden air into the space to be conditioned.

The fan I3 operating in the duct inlet zone common to the duct passages I9 and -2il forces-air '3 from the outside or recirculated air from the space to be conditioned into and through both duct passages.

The air propelled through the duct passage 20 passes therefrom into the end section of the main duct [0 and is propelled therethrough by a fan 35 mounted ,on-shaft 36 ;iournalled in brackets 31-within theduct scction 34.,beyond the end wall 22 of the duct passage I9. The fan 35 is driven through a-belt drive :38 by electric motor 39 mountedoutside the duct. A'second atomizingunit40, similar,in-constructiOn to-.the unit 23, but mounted coaxially with-the fan 35, has the revolving disc 4| thereof driven through: belt drive 42 by the motor 39. Radial vanes :35 are mounted in=advance of unit .40..

-A plurality of-outlet nozzlesg43 similar to the nozzles 32, mounted in lateralopenings 3 in the side of the duct section 34betweenthe second atomizing'unitand the terminus thereof, distribute the moisture laden air-from the duct section-:34into the spacetube-conditioned. Where the duct l0extendscompletelyacross the space to be conditioned, the outlets 43 in-therter-rninal half 34 are under some conditions preferably faced in the opposite direction-totheoutlets 32 3 so as. to. stimulate circulation of; air in a I circular path through the space.

The construction .of the duct !;0 and outlet nozzles-therefor provides for facility. of-assengbly, uniform distribution of air through the outlets irOmendtO- end-of; the duct and permitsthesuppl of heavily moistureladen-.air;from the duct outlets athigh-velocity-while preventing the discharge into-the; air in the space tobeconditioned of anyparticles ord-ropsi of water-whichwillnot :completely evaporatebefore-falling to the floor or onto machineryadjacent the outlet.

-The ductsectionsare made :of sheet metal and arepreferably 'formed from stripsor sheets-which ,are bent-into the tapered-tubular shape with a longitudinal seam .44 uniting the meeting edges.

Theopenings;3;3;in--the wall -of theduct sections vfor.mountingtheoutlets areall preferably of the same size and pattern and are preferably cut or The duct outlet nozzles .32 and .43 are substantially. conoidaliin formand. substantially elliptical in-crosssection with the majpraxis thereof disposed in the .vertioal planeandarepreferably all ,of the samesize. The side wall portionsofgthe outlet nozzles are slightly curved from top to bottom and the diameter of the nozzles between the side wall portions is progressively slightly greater from the outer to the inner extremity of the nozzles resulting in a slight taper from the inner to the outer end of this portion thereof as will be seen in Fig. 8. In the vertical dimension the outlet nozzles taper rather sharply from the largest diameter at the inner. extremity thereof to :the smallest diameteraat the discharge end thereof as seen more clearly in Figs. 6 and '7.

As the outlet nozzles are all of the same construction a description of one will be sufiicient.

The bottom wall portion of the outlet nozzle is formed with a sharper taper from the inner to the outer end than is the upper wall portion thereof so that when the outlet is mounted with .-the longitudinal-central axis thereof approximately horizontal, the bottom wall will slant inwardly at a sufficient sharp angl to effectively drain back into thefductvpassage-any:moisture which collects on the-walls and; runs down to the bottom thereof. ,Atrthe outer-endof the outlet, the edge is: turned inwardly-as: indicated at'45 to f,or m -a gutter which will collect and drain any moisture which; may be deposited on the inner .wall of the outletandibe forced toward the discharge end under influence of the air stream passing therethrough. {To further facilitate .-30..

the outlet isprovided at-thabottom with a double :walLby means of antauxiliary -wallmember 46 attached thereto and defining with the bottom drainage OfqQQHQCtQd water-back into'the duct wall portion .41 protected dra-inage channel '48 shielded fromthemain-air stream issuing through the duct. Atthe-points-ofjuncture of the auxiliary wall 46 .with thevmain wall ofthe outlet a series I of -openings 49 --areformed in the wall l6 'to facilitate drainage of -moisture from the side walls into the protected-drainage channel 48.

v" r'he portionv of the wall ;of the outlet extending into the. duct is for me d;1so that at "the top and bottom the outlet projectsa substantial distance .into the duct passage. From the top, the inner $5.

edgetofthe-sidewall-portion 50 nearest the inlet or supply end of the ductl is. cut away along a generally-curved line, whichmidway of-theheight ,of the outlet;installed--at "the larger end of the duct is almost coincident'with-the side wall of the duct passage. Theinner edge of the side wall portion-5| -remotef-romthe inlet end of the duct follows a generally straight line from top to lbottom so as to project into-the air stream in the duct and act somewhat as-ascoop in diverting a part of theair into and throu-gh-the outlet.

It will be observed that the windward surface of :the side wall5l being directly impinged by the -moisture laden air stream will quickly become "wet-and any heavy drops of moisture de- -*p0sitedthereon will spread out in a film and run down into the drainage channel '48 at the bottom without causing any trouble. However dueto the existence of a slight back draft along and -adjacent thedry sheltered or lee side of the wall portion 50 caused by the aspirating effect of the air stream turning outwardly through the outlet,

the collection of moisture on-the outer or windwardsurface of the wall portion'50 adjacent the top thereof or on the inside surface at or adjacent the top wherethe Wet and dry areas meet,

exhibits a-ten'dency to form drops adjacent the inner (edge of the-upper portion of the outlet,

which drops if allowed to formand fall free would be .picked up and carried out into the room by the air stream. tendency to the -displacement. This construction is extremely's'imformation and deposit of drops inthis 'areais I 'ple, avoids the use of nutsybolts' or solder in seprobably due to the direction of the air currents after impingement against the upper portion of the windward side of-the inwardly' projecting 'wallportion 5 plus the eifect of the aspirated curing the outlets and forms a universal fastener for all the outlets in an installation because all that is necessary is that the strips be long enough the edge vofthe duct wall on the outlets.

totake care of this condition; the outlet'is-formed with 'a'knurled surface 52 along and adjacent the inner edge thereof at thetop in the region where the wet and dry areas meet and the knurl- 'in'g-is extended down on thefwind'ward' wall portion 5llto a point where the edge of the 'outlet curves well into theduct and air stream so that the inner end of the drainage channel soas'to obviate any possibility of the inwardly deposited water bein picked up'and carried through the outlet by the force of the air stream. r In cotton and other mills where there is a-con} siderable amount of lint and the likein the'air, the aspiratingefiect of 'the air stream issuing from the" outlet induces air currents along and over the outside surface and tip of the outlets, 'caiusing a'dposit of linton the tip ofthe'outIets due to tlle fact that these are usually'slightly wet at this point. In order to overcome this condition the outlets are provided with an outstanding rib or annular flange 54 a'djace'htthe tip end thereof which serves to divert the aspirated lint la'denair' currents from the damp area 'It will be notedthat the uniformlyxdiinensioned openings 33 formed in :the metal'sheets from whichthe duct sections are made'progresform: thereof, they come into engagement. with the edgesgof theopenings at progressivelyhigher positions on the nozzles-gso that" progressively greater portions of the nozzle members remain projecting into the duct. The progressively greater projection of the nozzle members into the tapering duct effects automatically a proatthe extremity thereof and prevent the deposit of lint 'o'n'theses'urfaces; The outlet fittings' are dimensioned and the openings in the side walls of the duct areformed so that the outlets turned on'the side and slightly flattened may be inserted bodily into; the-duct through the openings, turned" and pulled back outwardly in correct position and snugly fitting the edges of theopenings. When the outlets are 'pullecl 'outwardlythey readily resume the correct shape'to form a tight fit all around'the edges of the opening as the sheet metal construction has sufli'cient flexibility'to permit the side walls to flex outwardly when the top and bottom portions engage the top and bottom edges of the open-1- mgsl I Although the'butlets are frictio'nally held in place due to the manner of installation;- novel fasteners are provided forsecuring them against displacement. These features consist of a plurality of metal strips55,' having one end thereof riveted or otherwise attached at 56 on 'th'e out side of the outlets adjacenttheinnerend 'of' the same. The point of attachment of thefstrip's-55 is at apoint on the outlet which in 'alli'po'sitions of installation will remain Within the du'ctand the strips extend forwardly from the point of attachment so as to extend outside the duct" in every case; During installation of the' outlets the strips lie fiat bn-the surface and whenthe outlets are drawn outwardlyto jam'into iinal position" the' free ends 51 of the strips, "extending outwardly of the duct wall; are bent out into contact with the wall thus securing the'outlets against portioning of the air delivered from-thenozzles over the length of the-duct. I v a The described construction andvmanner of assembling-the duct and outlets effects a great saving in labor and time in the installation of the system because all of the work of cutting of theoutlet openings and forming of the outlets can .be standardized in the factory rather than individually; cutting the outlet openings and individually trimming and fitting the nozzles there'- in on thefjob as has heretofore been the practice. Thefmodified form of duct outletfifl shownrin Figs. 9 to 14 is formed with a generally elliptical cross section and an inturned outeredge 6| for trapping and draining moisture filmed on the inner wall surfaces thereof. In this form of outlet, the lower main wall portion B2is formed with a curvature greater than that of the corresponding edge portion of the opening in the duct in which itis installed and the vertical dimension from top to bottom is less than the corresponding dimension of the opening. The outlet is formed with an auxiliarywallportion 65 applied on the outside of the bottom portion 62 thereof and havingv a curvature less than that of the adjacent portion of the outlet and the sameas the adjacent portion of theopening in the duct thereby producing betweenthe mainand auxiliary wall portions a drainage channel 66 opening rearn orated. The 11-10 slants back at a sufficiently sharp angle to efiectively-drain moisture caught thereon and the outer edge thereof is turned inwardly at 68to' ferm-atmppmg gutter insuring the retentionof moisture therein against blowing over theed'ge. Y J I The auxiliary lip forming wall portion extends at its lateral edges into contact withthe outlet wall and isi tta thereto by Soldering riveting at 69, sothat' as 'viewed ffrom'the iout side, the auxiliary wall forms the bottom Icon tinuation of the'ellipti'c'al wall of theoutlet." The outlet therefore makes a snugfit-in the'opening' fit is effected.

In the form of the invention shown inFig. 15, the main duct I I is formed without any, internal dividing partition and all of the air propelled into the duct by the fan H3 is passed around the atomizing unit I23 which is centered in the duct and driven from thesame motor H6 as the fan. In this construction there is mounted in the duct beyond the first set of outlets I32 a humidifying unit I driven by a motor I39. The humidifier unit Ml serves to replenish the supply of moisture in the air stream flowing to-the second or terminal group of outlets I43, which replenishment is necessary because of the loss of moisture represented by deposition on the duct walls and the passage of unevaporated finely divided particles out of the first set of outlets. Although a preferred method of supplying conditioned air andpreferred forms of apparatus for practicing the method have been described and illustrated by way of example, it will be understood that other modifications embodying the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: c 1. The method of supplying conditioned air to a plurality of points of discharge in a space to be conditioned from an air intake at one side of said space which comprises propelling air from the intake point through a zone of advancement adjacent the air intake, humidifying the air adjascent the zone of advancement, discharging successive portions of the humidified air from discharge points spaced along the zone of advancement, passing the remaining portion of the air through a humidifying zone remote from said Zone of advancement, humidifying the airpassing through said humidifying zone and discharging the same from a series of spaced points of discharge remote from said zone of advancement. 2. The method of supplying conditioned air to a plurality of points of discharge into a large space to be conditioned from an air intake at one side of thespace which comprises-propelling the air from the intake point through a zone of advancement in the. direction of the points of. discharge to said space, dividing the air into a plurality of streams, humidifying one of the air streams and discharging the same from a series of points of discharge at different distances from and relatively near the intake point, propelling the other air stream through a second zone of advancement spaced frointhe first zone ofadvancement, humidifying the-air stream from the second zone of advancement and discharging the same into the space to be conditioned from a series of points of discharge at difi erent distances fromand relatively-remotefrom the intake point.- i r i I I 3. The method of" supplying humidified air to a space to be. conditioned from an airintake point substantially remote from portions of saidspace, which comprises propelling air from the point of intake toa plurality of zones of discharge spaced from each other along the path ;of propulsion; of the air, discharging finely divided water into the air immediately in advance of each of the zones of discharge, and discharging air and entrained particles 0.1 moisture from a series; of-"longitu- 76 length of said duct from adjacent the intake to the remote end thereof, blowing means adjacent the intakefor propelling air into and through said duct, means between said blowing means and a first set of outlets for discharging finely divided water into the duct for entrainmentin the air supplied. by said blowing means fordischarge through said outlets, and means in said duct between saidfirstsetof outlets and a second set of outlets in the succeedingportion of saidduct for discharging finely divided water into the duct for entrainment in. the air supplied by said blowing -means to said succeeding portion, of said duct for discharge through said secondset of outlets.

5. In apparatus for supplying conditioned air to a space to be conditioned, an elongated air conveying and distributing duct extending into said space, a plurality of outlets for humidified air spaced along the length of said duct, means at one end of said duct for propelling air into and through said duct to said outlets, a longitudinal partition within said duct extendin from adjacent said propelling means to a point intermediate the ends of said duct and defining independent duct passages each serving'a plurality of said outlets, means in each of said duct passages in advance of the first of the outlets served thereby for discharging finely divided water into the air flowing thereto, and auxiliary air propelling means in advance of'the water discharge means in the duct passage remote from said first mentioned propelling means.

6. In apparatus for supplying conditioned air to a space to be conditioned through a plurality of spaced points of discharge from an air intake point adjacent one side of the space comprisin an elongated air conveying and distributing duct extending into said space from the point of air intake, a plurality of longitudinally spaced outlet for humidified air arranged in groups succeeding each other at spaced intervals along the length of said duct, means for propelling air from the intake point into and throughv said duct and for supplying air in separate streams to the respective groups of discharge outlets, means for discharging finely divided water into the respective air streams immediately in advance of each of said groups of-outlets, and air propelling means in advance of the means for discharging water into the air stream supplied to the group of outlets remote from the point of air intake.

7. Apparatus for supplying conditioned air to aspace to be conditioned comprisin anelongated air conveying and distributing duct extending within the space to be conditioned and having an air intake at one end thereof, a plurality of sets of outlets for humidified air spaced along the length of said duct from adjacent the intake to the remote end thereof, blowing means adjacent the intake for propellingair into and through said duct, means between said blowing means and a first set of outlets for discharging finely divided water into the air suppliedby said-blowing means for discharge through said outlets, means in said duct between said first set of outlets and a second set of outlets in the succeedin portion of said ductv for discharging finely divided-waterinto the air supplied by said blowing means to said succeeding portion of said duct for discharge through said second set of outlets, said outlets comprising a tubular member extending laterally through the duct wall and tapering from an end thereof within the duct to a discharge end without the same, the wall of said outlet at the discharge end being turned inwardly to define a gutter for trapping moisture deposited on the inner surfaces thereof,

the bottom portion of said outlets being formed with inwardly slanting spaced wall portions defining a, drainage channel discharging into the duct, the windward side of the outlet wall within the duct being cut away toward the adjacent duct wall and the leeward side of the same extending into the duct passage to divert air into said outlet.

AGNEW H. BAHNSON, JR. 

